Display device.



E. P. HIBST. DISPLAY DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 25, 1913.

1,080, 1 0-8., Patented Dec. 2,1913.

EDWIN P. HIRST, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

DISPLAY DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2, 1913.

Application fi1ed'Septemberl 25, 191-3. Serial No. 791,699.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, EDWIN P. I-Imsr, a; citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented the following described Improvements in Display Devices.

My invention relates to display attach ments for hinged-lid boxes, more.particularly cigar-boxes, whereby the box is supported in tilted position and the lid and a supplementary, transparent cover are caused to turn in unison, and has for its object to improve the construction and usefulness of such devices. I

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, Figure 1 is a side view of an open cigar-box with the attachment applied to it; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary rear elevation; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section on the line III of Fig. 2, showing the box-lid and supplementary cover swung backward from the ositions shown in Fig. 1, in order to permit access to the interior, and Fig. 4 is a plan view.

The drawings show an ordinary cigar-box 10, with its hinged lid 11.

The attachment comprises a supplementary, transparent cover 12, to close the top of the box when the lid is opened, whereby both the articles in the box and the matter on the inside of the lid are on display without danger of deterioration of the contents. As shown, the cover preferably consists of a suitable frame 13, formed of sheet metal, and a pane of glass or other transparent material 14 held therein by suitable lugs 15. The cover is detachably united with the lid 11, so as to turn in fixed angular relation therewith, by means of a lid-holder rigid with and at an angle to the cover. In the particular construction shown, the lid-holder comprises a strip 16, bent up, integrally, from the back of the sheet-metal frame 13 and extending along the front, or inside, of the lid 11 immediately above its hinge, and formed or provided with a hooked lug 17 at each end embracing the ends of the lid. The cover and lid-holder are thus in one piece and may be readily applied to the cigar-box in the manner indicated in the drawings. When thus applied, the supplementary cover and the lid-holder constitute a tilting structure, capable of swinging about and upon the hinge axis of the box.

The improved attachment comprises, further, and in combination with the cover and lid-holder, an easel support, designated generally 18, which is adapted to prop up the back part of the box so as to hold it in a tilted position, adapting it to display the contents of the box. This easel support is of resilient construction, connected to the tilting cover structure and adapted to be sprung or strained into engagement with the cigar box. In its preferred form, the easel support is bent from a piece of spring wire, forming a transverse or horizontal limb 19, and downwardly-extending legs 20 at each end, which are bent inward and upward in the form of prongs 21 to engage by their pointed ends with the underside of the box. Curved slots 22 are formed in the tilting structure for engagement by the limb 19,

and, as shown, such slots are formed in the ears 23 on the said cover, which ears constitute rearward projections of the downwardly bent side flanges of the frame 13. The resilience of the spring wire causes the limb 19 to bear downwardly against the lower edges of these two slots and the pointed ends of the prongs 21 to press upwardly and grip the box when in place; and when the box-lid and supplementary cover are swung backward in unison, the lower edges of the slots, which constitute curved bearing surfaces, slide on the transverse limb. It will be noted that the transverse part or limb 19 extends across behind the back of the box, forming a support therefor, and also that such limb may obviously assume various shapes and forms to serve the same or additional functions, all of which are intended to be included in the present disclosure.

The bearing slots 22 are preferably eccentric to the hinge axis of the box, decreasing in radius rearward, so that swinging of the lid and cover from the position shown in Fig. 1 toward that shown in Fig. 3 pulls by'slip'ping the lugs 17 over the lid thereof, l upward on the legs 20, and thus increases the tension of the support, with the result that the support acts as a spring tending to close the cover after it has been raised and to hold it tightly closed. In this action it may be assisted, when near the closing po sition, by the weight of the supplementary cover, which will usually be greater than that of the box-lid and lid-holder. At their rear and upper ends the bearing slots may be provided with detent notches 24, with which the transverse part 19 of the support engages when the cover is fully opened, as shown in Fig. 3, thus holding the parts in this position, the notches being sufiiciently shallow so that the transverse part may be disengaged from them and the supplementary cover closed by pressing downward thereon with sufiicient force. If the bearing slots are formed concentric to the hinge axis, which is likewise within the invention, they may also be provided with the same detent means, which in any event will provide a desirable snappy action to the movement of the supplemental cover, as will be understood. In any case the engagement be tween the easel support and cover structure will be elsewhere than at the hinge and will provide a sliding bearing of the one upon the other, giving the characteristic action of the present device.

Means are provided for locking the supplemental cover closed, such means being disposed behind the box where it is not readily noticeable and where it can be conveniently operated by the store-keeper from the rear of the counter on which the box is displayed. In the particular construction shown, the lock takes the form of a pin or bolt 25 sliding in a sleeve 26 fixed to the transverse limb or part 19 of the support,- and having a handle 27 operating in a slot in the sleeve. The locking device thus mounted on the support is adapted to engage with the tilting cover structure, for example with a bolt-hole 28 formed in one of the ears 28, into which the bolt can be shot when the supplementary cover is closed.

The contents of the box may thus be protected against surreptitious removal or han-j dlmg, wh1le nevertheless exposed for inspec-- tion through the glass cover. It will be obvious that various forms of locking means may be provided in the manner above indi and the like, comprising a supplementary cover and a lid-holder rigid with said cover whereby the box-lid and supplementary cover are caused to turn in fixed angular rean easel support adapted to be sprung into engagement with the box and having a transverse limb engaging the slots of said projections in position to bear against the back of the box. 7

3. In a display attachment for cigar-boxes and the like, the combination with a tilt-able structure comprising a supplementary cover and a lid-holder united in angular relation so as to cause a hinged box-lid and the cover to turn in unison, said structure having slotted portions, of an easel support engaging the slots of said portions, and a device for locking said structure to said easel sup port against turning.

4. In a display attachment for cigar-boxes and the like, the combination with a tiltable structure comprising a supplementary cover and a lid-holder united in angular relation so as to cause a hinged box-lid and the cover to turn in unison, said structure having slotted portions, of an easel support adapted to be sprung into engagement with the box and having its upper part extending through said slotted portions across and behind the box, and a device on said part of the easel support for locking the tiltable structure against turning.

5. A display attachment for cigar-boxes and the like, comprising a tiltable structure including a supplementary cover and a lidholder united in angular relation so as to cause a box-lid and the cover to turn in unison, said structure being provided with slots eccentric to the hinge of the box to which the attachment is to be applied, in combination with a resilient easel support adapted to be sprung into engagement with the box and bearing at its upper part in said slots, whereby the tension of the easel support tends to turn said tiltable structure.

6. A display attachment for cigar-boxes and the like, comprising a tiltable structure including a supplementary cover and a lidholder united in angular relation so as to cause a hinged box-lid and the supplementary cover to turn in unison, said structure being provided with bearings removed from and eccentric to the hinge of the box to In testimony whereof, I have signed this which the zltttachment'iis appllied, 1Cand a respecification in the presence of two Witnesses. silient ease support a apte to e sprung into engagement With the box and bearing EDWIN HIRST' at its upper part upon said bearings and Witnesses:

upon the box, said bearings having detent HARRY G. MALLEY,

notches at their ends. SAMUEL F. WIES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

